Jurgis Kalns: ”You have to think like a winner”

28 July 2022

Prior to the UEFA Europe Conference league, the second leg game between Valmiera FC and FC Shkendija – Valmiera FC head coach Jurgis Kalns gave his pre-game thoughts to the media.

Valmiera FC head coach Jurgis Kalns: ”The team is feeling good. We have worked very well during this time between the first and the second leg. We have arrived to win. You have to think like a winner otherwise you can’t show your best on the pitch. We have learned from the rough experience that we went through last week because Shkendija didn’t win, we lost the game. We are in an excellent mood and we are preparing for tomorrow’s game so that we can pass the Shkendia barrier.

I think that if we can show the best game that we have already demonstrated during the season on many occasions, everything will be alright. Of course, this is an away game, we aren’t used to the pitch, there will be around 10-12 thousand spectators, which could give us an extra emotional boost. They are still young but we have sorted our heads. That is the biggest takeaway from the previous meeting because we experienced tactical errors and decisions that we couldn’t understand. If we can play at least 70% of our level tactically and be physically more prepared then everything should be fine. If we talk about any takeaways then nothing has really changed. One thing that we have to get right is how the opponent will begin the match. We haven’t seen them in this position yet as against Ararat they had the home leg first where they won, which meant that they could play a more calm game whilst playing the away leg. I don’t know if they will play lower in front of their crowd or if they will press us. We are ready for both variations. I think that we will adjust and try to force them to play the style that we can offer.

We have nothing to complain about, all of the players are healthy and ready for the game. They are ready to give all their strength to make not only Valmiera but all the fans of Latvia happy. We know that during Euro cups they cheer for every Latvian team. I hope that we will be able to meet them in a week or two in Riga.

I think that the Slovakian referees did well during the first leg, they allowed us to play the game. There were many rough moments, I wanted to see our team playing more aggressively. The referees don’t play the games. The most important thing as I already mentioned is that we have four halves and we have played two of them. The most important thing is not how you begin but how you finish and I truly hope that we will end on a high note.”

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